Institute for Transportation

Description

This is a free one-hour webinar. The late merge, or “zipper” merge, has become a common strategy to increase work zone capacity by encouraging drivers to stay in their lanes until they reach a defined merge area, where they alternately merge (i.e., similar to a zipper). This webinar will focus on a project that examined driver comprehension of the zipper merge using a road user survey, which provided insights as to how well drivers understand and comply with this lane control strategy. These results were complemented by a series of field studies in Michigan and Missouri, allowing for an assessment of how behavior varied under different traffic conditions and in the presence/absence of supplementary signage. The results can help state departments of transportation (DOTs) and other road agencies understand how and where to consider use of the zipper merge as compared to traditional early merge lane control.

Note: The Iowa LTAP currently only provides certificates of attendance to webinars for those who register individually and then check in with the name and email address used during that registration. The registrants also need to attend the webinar in its entirety. All our webinars are recorded, and the length of the recording is indicated. We encourage attendees to keep a copy of the webinar description for their records. If certificates are needed for internal purposes only (e.g., recordkeeping for others “in the room”), please contact us before the webinar to determine how we might get this done.

Bio

Dr. Peter Savolainen is an MSU Research Foundation Professor and Chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Michigan State University. His research examines the fundamental nature of road user behavior, particularly how traffic safety and operations are influenced by behavior in consideration of roadway and traffic characteristics. His research has led to the publication of more than 100 peer-reviewed articles, highlighted by a series of contributions in the areas of naturalistic driving research, countermeasure evaluation, and work zone safety. Dr. Savolainen currently serves as an associate editor of the ASCE Journal of Transportation Engineering, Part A: Systems, as well as on the editorial advisory boards of Accident Analysis and Prevention and Analytic Methods in Accident Research. He is the chair of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Education Council and is also a member of the Transportation Research Board Standing Committee on Safety Performance Analysis.